Jonathan Tucker might have a broken neck.
Hes not really sure.
But where did Tucker go when he wrapped?
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To eat a half-pound turkey burger.
A maybe-broken neck is just the latest thing hes done to his body in the name of his art.
Its that commitment that makes Tucker worth watching.Justifieds Boon.Kingdoms Jay Kulina.Parenthoods Bob Little.Hannibals Matthew Brown.
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Theyre all Tucker and yet those four characters feel nothing alike.
I hope that will always be the case, Tucker says about his shape-shifter status.
Tucker found his way into acting at a young age.
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After that, he was hooked.
And thats because he wasnt channeling the individual, but the passion.
I wanted to find that sense of enthusiasm for all things politics, Tucker says.
I was trying to think, How can I make this character ambitious without being conniving?
From potentially sneaky to downright dangerous, he then joinedHannibalas Matthew Brown.
Tucker crafted a new character for the show, and its one that surprised many people behind the camera.
After his first take, Tucker remembers being asked if he was putting on a lisp.
You attempt to make more of whats on the page, he says.
It puts you into a physical place from which the rest of your choices are informed, he says.
Everybody walks differently and talks differently.
Its important to incorporate that.
Teaching actors how to find their neutral spine allows them to make choices from there.
We had this idea of making him like a big, bushy-tailed fox, he continues of Boon.
How does that fox or big bushy-tailed cat move?
How do they hear and smell and how do they react to noise?
But the star didnt stop there.
Boons finishing touch was something Tucker picked up while on a yoga retreat six months earlier.
I saw this guy wearing all these rings and I thought that was so cool.
[I decided] to incorporate that into the character.
But it was Jay who caught Tuckers eye, and it was Jay whom hed eventually bring to life.
For Tucker, crafting Jay was about channeling what it means to be a real townie.
It was a lot of growing up in Charlestown [Massachusetts], where I grew up.
I was the first person that left, he says.
Tucker went from being a local in his own life to reflecting it in his character.
A townie in one city or rural area is the same as a townie anywhere else, Tucker says.
you’re free to find other similarities.
Add in a bit of Sam Rockwell, and Jay Kulina was born.
I went to Mr. Sam Rockwell for hisscreen test forConfessions of a Dangerous Mindwhere hes singing and dancing.
And with each character, Tucker learns something new.
Its a rule that can lead to some dark thoughts.
As an actor, you have to think graphically, because life is graphic.
You cant just think about a car accident.
You have to really get into what that looks like and feels like and smells like.
Youre free to play, and its just so fun.
But with that freedom comes the possibility of failure.
Im totally prepared for when it doesnt work, he continued.
I have to go with that approach rather than playing it safe.
Playing it safe doesnt work.
